Recommended for elementary school students' independent research! Experiment and observation ideas using everyday materials

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Accompanist / Piano Instructoryuri
Accompanist pianist × piano instructor × web writer. I began piano lessons at age four and, inspired by my piano teacher, decided to pursue music. I went on to specialized music programs in high school and university, where I discovered the appeal of accompanying instrumentalists and singers. Currently, alongside teaching piano, I work mainly in my home region of Aichi as an accompanist for flute, voice, choir, and more. Through lessons, my students often introduce me to trending songs, and my hobby is trying anything on the piano—Japanese and Western pop, commercial jingles, and beyond. Since 2021, I’ve also been active as a web writer, covering music and a variety of other genres.

Recommended for elementary school students who haven’t decided on a summer vacation independent research project yet! Choosing a topic can be tough, but in this article we introduce exciting ideas that will make you feel thrilled just reading them—from factory tours at candy makers to gemstone polishing, and even a DIY telescope you can build with materials you have at home! You’ll also find plenty of ideas you’ll want to tell someone about, like a curious experiment to check your ear age and a project to make water that’s both hard and soft.

You’re sure to find tips for independent research that use familiar items and are fun to try!

Recommended for elementary school science projects! Experiment and observation ideas using everyday materials (21–30)

Fizzy Ramune Experiment

http://www.lemon8-app.com

Why not try making fizzy ramune tablets for your summer break science project and enjoy their colors and sounds when dropped into water? After thoroughly mixing ingredients like powdered sugar, cornstarch, and food-grade citric acid, add food coloring to make them visually fun.

Press the mixed dough with two spoons to shape it just right.

Let them dry for about half a day to finish the ramune.

When eaten, they fizz in your mouth, letting you experience the curious chemical reaction of carbonation.

It’s a safe project even for children, using the carbon dioxide produced by the reaction between lemon juice’s acid and baking soda.

You can boost originality by changing the colors and flavors.

It’s a great idea for learning chemistry with familiar materials.

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mutō

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Growth record of baby rabbits

http://www.lemon8-app.com

If you keep rabbits at home, a great independent research project is to record the growth of the babies.

Observe and log their body size and weight, how their movements change day by day, and what they eat.

Noticing daily changes—such as ear movements and how their fur comes in—deepens your understanding of the growth of life.

Taking photos and arranging them in sequence will also make your research materials visually clear.

It’s also valuable to note interactions with the mother rabbit and behaviors among the baby rabbits themselves, which can lead to fascinating discoveries.

Observations require a quiet environment and a gentle attitude, and through engaging with living creatures, you can cultivate empathy.

It’s an idea that nurtures the heart while deepening learning through living alongside animals.

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mutō

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Let’s learn about sugar crystallization while making canelés.

http://www.lemon8-app.com

Let’s make an experimental piece using a canelé mold for sweets.

Put powdered gelatin into a container filled with water and heat it in the microwave.

After heating, add sugar, color it with edible food coloring, and heat it in the microwave again.

Pour it into the canelé mold, and once it sets, remove it from the mold.

Your beautiful, colorful sugar canelés are ready.

At first, they look jiggly, but after a week, the sugar crystallizes and they turn into sparkly, crystal-like pieces.

You can enjoy watching the sugar change over time.

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Nakajima Junko

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Experiment where ham melts with kiwi

http://www.lemon8-app.com

Here’s a curious and fun science project using kiwifruit and ham.

Get your materials ready: kiwifruit, ham, paper, and felt-tip pens.

Place a sliced kiwifruit on top of a halved piece of ham.

By timing this setup, you can find out how many minutes it takes for the ham to start breaking down.

If you photograph the changes over time, your project will gain more depth.

You might discover something new by comparing heated kiwifruit with unheated kiwifruit.

Write down the purpose of the experiment and your results to complete your summer science project.

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mayumi

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Independent study at the play park

A play park where children can fully immerse themselves in nature is perfect for a hands-on independent study project.

It’s packed with activities that are hard to experience in everyday life, such as tree climbing, chopping firewood, and making campfires.

Rather than just spending a day playing and calling it done, you can turn it into a solid research project by recording what activities you did, what you enjoyed, and what ingenuity you used, together with photos or drawings.

It’s important to summarize in your own words what you learned and felt through play.

Learning how to use tools, paying attention to safety, and understanding how to interact with nature can also be part of the project.

This is an action-observation style idea that lets you deepen your experience by engaging all five senses.

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mutō

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Butter Even Elementary School Students Can Make

@nonno.chan
I recreated a summer vacation science project I made a long time ago: homemade butter!#Summer Vacation Independent Research #HandmadeButter Homework #tiktoksummerbreak #meiji Meiji Delicious Fresh Cream
♬ 3 minutes cooking style pop / cooking / sweets(957554) – ArcTracks

Here’s a summer vacation science project idea for making authentic butter at home using heavy cream, salt, and a plastic bottle.

Put heavy cream and a pinch of salt into a plastic bottle, close the cap tightly, and shake it vigorously.

After shaking for a while, the contents will separate into liquid and solids.

This is the sign that butter and buttermilk have separated.

Pour off the liquid, cut the bottle open with scissors, and take out the contents—the butter is ready.

Spread it on bread to enjoy a special flavor that really lets you feel you made it yourself.

Watching the cream change teaches about dairy processing and fat separation.

The hands-on, energetic shaking is fun and gives a sense of accomplishment, making this a great idea for elementary school students.

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mutō

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Milk Carton Rolling Tower

https://www.tiktok.com/@silk_haru3mama/video/7398836055996173569

Let’s reuse empty milk cartons to make a fun rolling tower where a ping-pong ball tumbles down! Cut the milk cartons and connect two of them to create a long cylindrical base.

Make holes and slits in paper plates, attach them in a stepped arrangement, and adjust the angles so the ball rolls smoothly through.

Add slits to the side of the cylinder so the ball won’t stop midway and will drop all the way to the bottom.

If you wrap the whole thing with a tube-shaped cover made from a clear file, the ball won’t fly out and it’s safer to play with.

A bonus is that kids can learn about gravity and incline through the speed of the rolling ball and the fun sounds it makes.

It’s an eco-friendly idea that uses recycled materials to create a moving, interactive project.

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mutō

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